August 2022 updates from MUSC College of Graduate Studies Dean Paula Traktman, Ph.D

To all:

Summertime at MUSC always feels like an inflection point. In May, we celebrated our graduates at a wonderful hooding ceremony. During this ritual, the remarks given by each of our mentors highlighted the ways in which their students had matured from a trainee to a colleague, the impact of their work and the personal contributions they had made to the research group. The special bond that develops between research-intensive students and their mentors is so palpable! The next day, the students and their families enjoyed the MUSC-wide Commencement ceremony. Next, we welcomed our incoming Masters in Medical Sciences students and post-baccalaureate trainees in June. MSTP students arrived soon after that, and now the CGS leadership team and staff are getting ready for the new academic year and the arrival of our Masters in Biomedical Science and Ph.D. students.

In this issue of the newsletter, we are highlighting Shaaron Ochoa as one of our current students. We are fortunate to have Shaaron in our program: She is highly intelligent, a skilled experimentalist, a leader and a kind and supportive mentor to younger trainees. In addition, she has given generously of her time to nurture other URM students in our PREP and IMSD programs.

We are also featuring Jordon Ritchie as a recent alumnus. Jordon took an unusual path to become the first matriculant into the joint MUSC/Clemson Biomedical Data Science and Informatics (BDSI) Ph.D. program. Using the latest data analysis and informatics tools, Jordon focused on projects relevant to health care and electronic medical records. His entrepreneurial mindset and fearlessness made him the ideal student to navigate a brand-new program!

As always, please enjoy the newsletter,

Dean Traktman